Description: Extreme seasonal changes in light conditions are among the key characteristics of high Arctic ecosystems with far-reaching implications for their potential to generate biomass via photosynthetic primary production. As a result, Arctic ecosystems are usually characterized by a very short productive period during spring/summer that provides the entire annual biomass production available for higher trophic levels. Of particular ecological importance is the bottom ice algae bloom, which provides a pulse of primary production when no other significant food source exists in the marine ecosystem. Solar angle, sea ice cover and snow thickness are the main factors that determine timing and progression of the bottom ice algae bloom, while nutrient availability often affects the peak magnitude (and nutritional quality) of algal blooms. In this work, we summarize a pan-Arctic dataset of bottom ice algae biomass time series to describe latitudinal gradients in bloom development and the processes that control these gradients. We conclude with a discussion of potential implications for ecosystem structure and trophic fate of the produced biomass. The ongoing changes due to climate warming lead to alterations of environmental conditions, and their consequences for Arctic productivity are still heavily debated. By comparing pan-Arctic data on the seasonal development of vernal bloom processes and different bloom scenarios, we try to identify the most important factors determining the phenology of bottom ice algae during this important transitional phase in the Arctic.

Description: Marine ecosystems at high latitudes are characterized by extreme seasonal changes in light conditions, as well as a limited period of high primary production during spring and early summer. As light returns at the end of winter to Arctic ice-covered seas, a first algal bloom takes place in the bottom layer of the sea ice. This bottom ice algae community develops through three distinct phases in the transition from winter to spring, starting with phase I, a predominantly net heterotroph community that has limited interaction with the pelagic or benthic realms. Phase II begins in the spring once light for photosynthesis becomes available at the ice bottom, although interaction with the water column and benthos remains limited. The transition to the final phase III is then mainly driven by a balance of atmospheric and oceanographic forcing that induce structural changes in the sea ice and ultimately the removal of algal biomass from the ice. Due to limited data availability an incomplete understanding exists of all the processes determining ice algal bloom phenology and the considerable geographic differences in sympagic algal standing stocks and primary production. We present here the first pan-Arctic compilation of available time-series data on vernal sea ice algal bloom development and identify the most important factors controlling its development and termination. Using data from the area surrounding Resolute Bay (Nunavut, Canada) as an example, we support previous investigations that snow cover on top of the ice influences sea ice algal phenology, with highest biomass development, but also earliest termination of blooms, under low snow cover. We also provide a pan-Arctic overview of sea ice algae standing stocks and primary production, and discuss the pertinent processes behind the geographic differences we observed. Finally, we assess potential future changes in vernal algal bloom phenology as a consequence of climate change, including their importance to different groups of grazers.

Description: Silica is an essential element for marine life and plays a key role in the biogeochemistry of the ocean. Glacial activity stimulates rock weathering, generating dissolved silica that is exported to coastal areas along with meltwater. The magnitude of the dissolved silica export from large glacial areas such as the Greenland Ice Sheet is presently poorly quantified and not accounted for in global budgets. Here we present data from two fjord systems adjacent to the Greenland Ice Sheet which reveal a large export of dissolved silica by glacial meltwater relative to other macronutrients. Upscaled to the entire Greenland Ice Sheet, the export of dissolved silica equals 22 ± 10 Gmol Si yr−1. When the silicate-rich meltwater mixes with upwelled deep water, either inside or outside Greenland's fjords, primary production takes place at increased silicate to nitrate ratios. This likely stimulates the growth of diatoms relative to other phytoplankton groups.

Description: Highlights: • Higher representation of picophytoplankton in land-terminating glacier fjord. • Smaller phytoplankton cells associated with glacial retreat. • Intermediate baroclinic circulation influences phytoplankton distribution. • Glacial retreat likely to have major implications for summer productivity. Abstract: Along Greenland's coastline, the magnitude and timing of primary production in fjords is influenced by meltwater release from marine-terminating glaciers. How local ecosystems will adapt as these glaciers retreat onto land, forcing fundamental changes in hydrography, remains an open question. To further our understanding of this transition, we examine how marine- and land-terminating glaciers respectively influence fjord bloom phenology. Between spring and autumn 2019, we conducted along-fjord transects of hydrographic variables, biogeochemical properties and pico- and nanophytoplankton counts to illustrate the contrasting seasonal bloom dynamics in the fjords Nuup Kangerlua and Ameralik. These fjords are in the same climatic region of west Greenland but influenced by different glacial structures. Nuup Kangerlua, a predominantly marine-terminating system, was differentiated by its sustained second summer bloom and high Chl a fluorescence in summer and autumn. In Ameralik, influenced by a land-terminating glacier, we found higher abundances of pico- and nanophytoplankton, and high cyanobacteria growth in autumn. The summer bloom in Nuup Kangerlua is known to be coincident with subglacial freshwater discharge sustaining renewed nutrient supply to the fjord. We observe here that the intermediate baroclinic circulation, which creates an inflow at subsurface depths, also plays an important role in increasing nutrient availability at shallower depths and potentially explains the distribution of primary producers. Our observations suggest that the retreat of marine-terminating glaciers onto land, with consequent increases in surface water temperature and stratification, and reduced light availability, may alter the magnitude, composition, and distribution of summer productivity.

Description: The study presents data from a multi-year zooplankton sampling programme with year-round monthly sampling in a sub-Arctic fjord in Greenland (Godthåbsfjord). A total of 56 zooplankton groups were identified over 5 years, with the copepod Microsetella norvegica dominating the mesozooplankton community. Microsetella norvegica was found to be very abundant (maximum abundance: 408 125 ± 161 387 nauplii m –3 and 91 995 ± 6 864 copepodites m –3 ) and to make up, on average, 87% of the annual copepod assemblage. There was a seasonal zooplankton succession whereby Cirripedia nauplii dominated the biomass in March and April, and Calanus spp. dominated in May and June, followed by M. norvegica from July to September. The total copepod biomass peaked in August (71 ± 10 mg C m –3 ), mainly (68% on average) due to biomass of M. norvegica , indicating that small copepods are important in this system. This multi-year study describes inter-annual variation in species abundance and seasonal succession. Fjord–ocean interactions, tidal mixing and the extensive freshwater run-off from the Greenland Ice Sheet are characteristic features of fjords in Greenland that could be a principle driver behind the present findings.